US Navy Seabees used a heavy-duty forklift with an extendable boom to stabilise a sedan dangling on a bridge guard rail and enable emergency crews to rescue the occupants.
Following the incident on the afternoon of 12 January, domestic and foreign television stations and print media gave prominent coverage noting the fortuitous availability of the forklift to help solve a dangerous problem on California state highway 101 near Buellton in Santa Barbara County. The NBC network's Nightly News broadcast a 122-second segment.
In the northbound passing lane, a gravel-hauling big rig truck hit a compact BMW, broke through the rail, plunged about 75 ft. (23 m) into a ravine next to Nojoqui Creek, and burst into flames, according to police reports. The truck driver, Charles Allison Jr, 47, was killed instantly.
The mangled car hung precariously on the concrete rail. The driver, elementary school teacher Kelli Lynne Groves, 36, and her daughters, Sage, 10, and Milo, 10 weeks, were trapped.
Coincidentally, six Seabees from mobile construction battalion three and the 31st Seabee readiness group were southbound returning to their Port Hueneme quarters from a lengthy pre-deployment exercise at the Fort Hunter Liggett training facility. They removed the forklift from a transport truck, extended the boom and positioned the tines under the car, preventing it from slipping further off the rail.
With the forklift-supplied stability, workers used hydraulic rescue tools to remove the mother and her daughters, who were treated at Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara.